Column of the Day: Ask Officer Joe
Q: I receive calls on a regular basis stating that I won a free trip, and normally I just hang up. If I did win it sure would be nice to take one of those trips. Are these free trips legitimate?

Hospital to host health expo
Flagler Hospital will host a health expo Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the hospital conference room, located east of the cafeteria on the first floor.

Right to Life spaghetti dinner set for Sunday
Spaghetti will be dished up Sunday, as St. Johns Right to Life hosts its 30th annual fund-raising event. Dinner will be available from noon to 5 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Club, 121 Arredondo Ave.

People: Fifth Harry Potter book to be published
LONDON (AP) -- After months of feverish anticipation, J.K. Rowling has completed her fifth book about young wizard Harry Potter, and it will be published in Britain and the United States on June 21, her publishers said Wednesday.

Recipe Finder: Muffuletta recipe should enliven taste buds
Dan Evers of Woodburn, Ore., writes: "When I was stationed in Biloxi, Miss., in 1969-'70, we had a sandwich called (muffuletta). It was made with crushed green olives, olive oil, meats and cheese. I cannot remember what the meats and cheeses were. Please, can you help me?"

Just 35 minutes from start to finish
Wintry weather makes recipes using only five ingredients sound really, really appealing. With a book full of such recipes and a few timely grocery buys, great home-cooked meals are within everyone's reach.

Today in History
Today is Thursday, Jan. 16, the 16th day of 2003. There are 349 days left in the year.

Gardner: Councils could cost $84k
During the St. Augustine mayoral race in November, candidate George Gardner said that, if elected, he'd institute a Neighborhood Councils Office to foster better communication between St. Augustine residents and their government.

A whale of a sighting
A new age in whale hunting will hover in the St. Augustine skies during the next three weeks as Science & Technology International (STI) pinpoints the breeding patterns of right whales over the coastline.

Downtown shops targeted by 'gypsy' thieves
Police are tracking a band of gypsy thieves they believe are responsible for stealing jewelry and antiques from shops on St. George Street and San Marco Avenue during the past week and a half.

Land rezoned to allow Ring Power
The St. Johns Board of County Commissioners rezoned property Tuesday within the newly-approved World Commerce Center to allow the Ring Power Corporation of Jacksonville to move to the site.

For the Record
The St. Johns County School Board will hold a 1 p.m. workshop on Thursday on the search for a successor to School Superintendent Hugh Balboni. The meeting will be in the third-floor conference room of the district office, 40 Orange St.

Photo: Shot in the shadows
Joshua Pena goes up for a shot while playing a two-on-two game of basketball with family members Wednesday on the basketball courts behind the Ketterlinus gym.

Spotting a con artist
A golden rule of becoming a successful con artist is learning how to pique the "natural human instinct of greed," said St. Augustine Police Department detective commander Stephen Fricke.

For The Record
A new state law on agricultural land classification took effect Jan. 1.Anyone owning land in Florida that was classified as agricultural in 2002 must now apply to renew the classification for 2003, according to Property Appraiser Sharon Outland.

A case of duplication? EDC faces tenuous future
St. Johns County's Economic Development Committee may be dissolved after County Commissioners expressed concerns that the efforts of the committee duplicate those of the St. Augustine & St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce.

Essie Davis
Essie Davis, 79, of St. Augustine, died Jan. 12, 2003, at home. She was a native of St. Augustine. She was a retired dietitian and a member of St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church.

Bill David Farr
Bill David Farr, 50, of St. Augustine, died Jan. 13, 2003, at Flagler Hospital. He was born in Seymour, Texas and has lived here for the past year. He was a graduate of Texas A&M and worked for many years as director of the Housing Authority in Seymour.

Annie G. Jones
Annie G. Jones, 96, of St. Augustine, died Jan. 8, 2003 at Flagler Hospital. She was a native of Wadley, Ga., and had lived here since her early teens. She was a homemaker and a member of Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church.

Beatrice Pulliam Hackett
Beatrice Pulliam Hackett, 87, of Memphis, Tenn., died Jan. 9, 2003, at Methodist Hospital Germantown. She was a former resident of St. Augustine and had live in Memphis for the past 10 years. She was a homemaker and she was of the Methodist faith. She was predeceased by her husband Andrew C. Hackett.

Mae Etta Vaughn
Mae Etta Vaughn, 88, of Green Cove Springs, died Jan. 13, 2003, at home. She was a native of Live Oak and had resided in Green Cove Springs since 1970. She was a homemaker and a mother of the church at Trinity Baptist Church.

Harry E. Jones
Harry E. Jones Jr., 79, of Federal Point, died Jan. 14, 2003, in Palatka. He was a native of Brunswick, Ga., and had resided in Putnam County for over 60 years. He was a U.S. Army-Air Corps veteran of World War II where he served in the Pacific arena. He retired as a power-house operator after 45 years with Georgia Pacific. He was also a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. He was preceded in death by his wife, Peggy Rawson Jones.

Barbara Beyer
Barbara Beyer, 64, of St. Augustine, died Jan. 13, 2003, at Flagler Hospital. She was a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and had resided here since 1971. She was a business owner/operator and a member of St. Ambrose Catholic Church.

Letter: Editorial may backfire
Editor: The Record's editorial in support of President Bush may prove to be embarrassing to The Record. It is far too early to judge President Bush's bold military and economic decision.

Perspective: Bush plan would increase budget deficits
WASHINGTON -- When Secretary of Commerce Don Evans phoned me to praise the tax plan announced by President Bush last week -- he must have drawn the short straw to have my name on his call list -- he assured me that the "bold package" would boost "the general well-being of the people."

Editorial: Ritalin's gift to children
Blame the children. If Ritalin and similar stimulants weren't best known for medicating kids, their increased use in recent years wouldn't provoke so much controversy.

Perspective: Why is peace considered such a dirty word?
Every Friday night for the past nine weeks I've joined a group of 25 to 30 people deeply concerned about the proposed American attack on Iraq. We meet at the Bridge Of Lions and carry signs stating our objection to what we see as a wholly unwarranted American invasion of the nation of Iraq.

Letter: Don't miss this recreational opportunity
Editor: I do not agree with the premise behind a letter from Clemens Byatt published in The Record on Jan. 6. Mr. Byatt seems to be saying, "If I don't do it, the county should not pay for it."

Column: McGahee's decision makes sense
The case you can make for Andre Johnson turning pro is two-words simple: Willis McGahee. How could Johnson watch his teammate not get up after a tackle, lose millions of NFL dollars and risk the same thing happening to him?

McGahee running to the NFL
MIAMI -- Willis McGahee can expect many doctors' visits in the next three months. And most of them won't be with his own physician.

Florida basketball fans await 'Dunking Danish'
GAINESVILLE -- He's coming out to play Wednesday night. Finally, everyone gets to see what the fuss was about, all this hype about the "Great Dane," the "Dunking Danish," the whatever else they'll call Christian Drejer.

Appeal court junks sexual predator act
MIAMI -- An appeals court Wednesday ruled that the Florida Sexual Predator Act is unconstitutional because it lacks provisions to let judges determine a defendant's actual threat to the community on an individual basis.

Reno mum on possible bid for U.S. Senate
MIAMI -- Janet Reno says she is more occupied with fixing up her house and improving her kayaking than with considering a possible campaign for Congress if U.S. Sen. Bob Graham decides to run for president in 2004.

Florida National Guard calls up 600 more troops
Another battalion of the Florida Army National Guard received mobilization orders this week to support the fight on terrorism and protect the country. Soldiers will also be called to defend air bases in Florida, bringing the total number of activated soldiers to around 1,800, according to the Guard.

Medical group wants defibrillators to be placed in schools
PANAMA CITY BEACH (AP) -- Neither Louis Acompora's parents, watching in the stands, nor his coaches immediately realized what was happening to him after a ball struck his chest during a high school lacrosse game in West Islip, N.Y.